Mass Effect: Foundation
by Breakdown Boy
Summary: A Story of two people, one a colony kid who losses his whole family and the other is genetically engineered by her father, but now she's on the run for her life. Both of them will change the face of the galaxy, this is how they began, their foundation.
1. Prologue: The colony kid

Prologue – The colony kid

"Where are we going daddy?" Asked the 6 year old boy.

"Sorry Derrick, Daddy is just speaking to the nice lady who is helping us," Said the boy's mother.

"Where are we going mommy?" the child asked his mother.

"To a place called Mindoir honey, Daddy bought us some land and we're going to have a lot of fun there," His mother said with love and affection in her voice.

"Mr. Shepard, your booking is confirmed and you can head out to the take off platform, have a safe journey," The booking agent behind the counter said to the boy's father.

"Thank you so much," He replied.

"Hannah, Derrick, let's go. The shuttle is waiting for us," The man called to his wife and son.

The boy and his mother joined him as they walked out the doors unto the shuttle platform bathed in the brilliant sunset of Terra Nova.

They loaded their luggage on the shuttle which would transport them to the space station orbiting the planet. Once they arrived they would await their flight to Mindoir.

As the Shuttle dusted off from the platform, Derrick looked out the window with an awed expression; he had never been to space before.

"James," Hannah said.

"Yes honey?"

"Are we doing the right thing James?" She asked in a worried tone.

"We've talked about this. They say Mindoir is the perfect place for farming, save, fertile. It will be great," He replied confidently with a smile on his face.

"I hope you're right," She replied as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Don't worry so much." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

The shuttle left the planet of Terra Nova and sped off towards it's destination.

* * *

**Author notes:** Please take note that my first language is not English.

I thought the other day that writing a story about how Shepard and Miranda grew up would be cool, so I decided to write it. This will be my first creative work as my previous work was a weak attempt at novelising Mass Effect 2, which I concluded would be better left to LuxDragon.

I traditionally choose the colony/ hero background and thus chose that background for this story. I will attempt to write this FF up to the point where Shepard becomes a Spectre or up intill Lazarus, we will see how it goes.

Hope you enjoy it, and please remember to review this chapter.


	2. Prologue: Daddy's little girl

**Prologue – Daddy's little girl**

"Miranda! Come here at once," Richard Lawson shouted with irritation towards his ten year old daughter.

The girl turned around, startled by her father's tone and without greeting the boy she was talking too ran towards her father's limo.

"Get in," He ordered as he looked at the boy who had dared to talk to his daughter. There was a reason she was enrolled in the best girl's only school in Australia and one of them was to keep her away from boys like the one standing by the entrance of the school.

The boy was dressed in average attire and was obviously from a much less wealthy household. _Not at all good enough for his Miranda! _She was his, he created her to serve his needs and not to get distracted by riffraff like him. He gave the boy a condescending look and climbed into the limo.

Miranda looked down nervously as she sat opposite her father inside the expensive leather interior of the limousine; she knew what she had done wrong and understood that she would be punished when they were at home.

"Hand it over," Her father simply said as he entered the limo.

"Yes daddy," She replied nervously, she understood what he wanted and that was also one of the reasons for her trepidation. She had six A+ scores and one B+, best in her class. But she knew it wasn't good enough. This would be worse than speaking to the boy.

She handed the report card over to her father and waited. Her father took the report card while the limo was heading towards their grand estate close to Sydney. He looked over the information on the pad and read the teachers review. He spotted the solitary B+..."Miranda, come sit here." He said calmly as he tapped the space next to him.

She sat up and moved over and sat next to her father.

"Daddy, I can explain..." Before she could finish her sentence she was interrupted.

"Don't make excuses! It makes you look pathetic," He said coldly.

She felt the heat flooding to her cheeks as she filled with shame, she felt tears threaten to spill from her eyes but she dared not cry. Poor performance was not tolerated by her father and he usually only shouted at her for obvious failures such as her grades. It didn't matter if some of these were not her fault, the B+ was a case in point. She had corrected her Geometry teacher in class when he made a mistake with a formula and he didn't respond well and ended up looking like a fool in front of the whole class. As a result the teacher gave Miranda a mark of C- for her biggest assignment of the term, next to the C- was written; 'Next time, know your place". As a result, Miranda's average mark dropped to a B+.

She wanted to explain to her father but was rebuffed by the physical assault.

"This is not what I expect from my daughter, Miranda!" His tone had changed to a kind yet heartless tone.

"This leaves me no choice. Instead of going to Switzerland with me & Rachelle you will stay in Sydney and attend summer school to overcome your 'weaknesses' in this area," He spoke with finality.

Miranda was heartbroken, she had looked forward to this trip for the last six months, ever since her father mentioned that he would be going to some type of corporate retreat and he was taking her with him. She was exceptionally competitive and wanted to learn how to ski, skate and all the other fun activities that one could not really appreciate in the hot climate of Australia. She was especially looking forward to the cultural experience of going to some of the best classical music performances on the planet.

But she dare not show her disappointment, as she had learnt from previous experiences; her father demanded complete obedience. So she kept back the tears and just obediently replied.

"Yes daddy."

**-0O0-**

* * *

**Authors note:** This was a tricky part as I had to try and create the character for Miranda's father, hope you like it, also wanted to embody the extreme pressure placed on her, by her father. Please review this chapter.

**Made some changes from the original draft.**


	3. Shepard: Chapter 1: Normal

**Chapter 1 – Normal**

**10 years later - Mindoir**

Sweat was dripping down his brow; the hard lines of his upper torso drenched in perspiration as he held the axe in his left hand. He was taking a break from cutting down an undersized Mendo tree, a hard wooded tree that was common place on the Mindoir landscape. It was a Saturday morning, which meant he had to help out his dad on the farm for the first six hours of the day. On this specific morning he was tasked with cutting down some small trees that were in the edge of the field on the fringes of the Shepard family farm. They would be expanding the farm next year and this tree was one of many obstacles that would need to be removed to create space for future crops. During the week he would work only two to three hours after school. He didn't mind the work, he knew how bad last season's harvest had been and his father had told him that the next one had to be generous if they were going to recover their losses. The sun was at its highest indicating he was almost done with his work.

The Shepard family farm was situated in a lush green valley next to a lightly sloped hill covered in green grass; a snow covered mountain range could be seen in the faraway distance left of the hill top. His family would on some weekends make a trip with the neighbouring Daniels family to those same mountains. Both family farms were less than ten miles away from New Calvin, the main settlement on Mindoir, which among other things possessed a space port and a small garrison of Alliance marines.

"Derrick!"

He turned around to see his dad, James Shepard coming towards him in the small red tractor they purchased with the help of Alliance subsidies. It was an old model but still ran on Eezo and made very little noise for a vehicle that could pull farming equipment that weighed tons.

"Hi, Dad," Derrick said as he put down the axe and waited for his father to arrive.

"How's the clearing of the trees going?" James said with a smile as he came to a stop.

"Not too bad, as you can see I'm busy with the last one, but he's putting up a fight!' Derrick returned the smile.

"Good work Derrick, why don't you finish up with that last one and then I'll give you lift back to the house so you can grab a shower before you go see that vixen of yours?" James offered with a twinkle in his eye.

Derrick rolled his eyes at his Dad's dig at his relationship with Elle Daniels. She was the only daughter of Matt Daniels who owned the farm adjacent to his father's. His dad had made a habit of making fun of the boy's relationship with the daughter of his best friend, Matt Daniels. Both families started their farms on Mindoir about the same time ten years ago. Both wives received jobs as Colony administrators and both families had only one child both being the same age. The friendships that followed were a natural progression. Both families' help each other through tough times as farming on a new planet was tough going, especially Mindoir being so close to the Terminus systems.

"Thanks dad, give me two minutes and this tree will see its last day," Derrick replied with enthusiasm.

After the tree was down they headed back to the house where His mother met them outside with a smile on her face and a tray with two glasses and a jug filled with lemonade and ice.

Derrick jumped of the tractor and jogged to where his mother stood, he gave a kiss on the cheek and took a glass of lemonade and jugged it down.

"How's the work going Derrick?" Hannah Shepard asked her son.

"Derrick took out all the trees on the north end! We could've hauled them away today, but I thought I'd give the boy a bit of time off...seeing as he has other things that require his attention," His dad said with a mischievous grin.

"Dad," Derrick said with a groan. "I'm going to grab a shower. Thanks for the lemonade Mom." Derrick kissed her on the cheek and walked off to the house.

A half an hour later he was jumping unto his Sanchez scrambler, he turned the ignition and the mass effect plates pushed him off the ground and he raced away with the scrambler remaining a couple feet of the ground. Going at about ninety miles per hour he arrived at the Daniels family home in about two minutes.

"Hey handsome, your early," Elle called out as she exited the front door of her family's house, her long ponytail hanging over her shoulder. She was wearing a yellow tank top with light blue cut-off jeans while her feet were covered in brown leather hiking boots.

Derrick smiled at her with a look of appreciation. He felt like the luckiest kid on Midior or even the Traverse. Elle was a strikingly beautiful girl, with dark almost black brown hair with a slightly red tint when she was in the Sun. Her eyes were seductive and kind with a rich dark blue colouring. She had full lips and her body had already started to develop into a very attractive 'hour-glass' figure. She had an exciting and easy going personality that made him forget about any responsibilities he might have, he loved her. All in all he thought he was very lucky.

Elle had very similar thoughts, as she looked at what she thought was the most handsome boy in school. With his short dark hair and light blue eyes that seemed to see into her soul complemented his chiselled features and hard muscles earned from a dedicated work ethic on his family's farm. She definitely found him attractive, but that was not the thing she most loved about him. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something about Derrick that made her feel like she could be anybody, do anything, he made her feel not like the person she was but the person she could be.

"Hey beautiful," he said while walking over to her.

She ran towards him and jumped into his arms and started kissing him passionately.

"Miss me?" He asked the rhetorical question in a mischievous tone.

"Shut up!" She kissed him again.

They eventually disengaged and looked at each other.

"You ready?" He asked her.

"Yep, let me get my pack," She replied and then ran back into the house.

When she came back out her mother was walking with her and waved at Derrick.

"You take good care of my Elle now, you hear," Elaina Daniels called to Derrick as Elle ran to meet him, her Australian accent strong in her voice, much stronger than that of her daughter.

"I sure will Misses Daniels," He called from the back of the Sanchez as Elle climbed on the back and put on the extra helmet that he kept tied to the back of the bike for her.

He started the bike and raced off towards the Eastern mountain range that was not as high or far as the snow covered mountains to the north, but still gave a challenging hike. Both Derrick and Elle loved the outdoors and went on regular hikes on weekends, sometimes with their families but today they were celebrating their five month anniversary, so he wanted to do something special.

They had known each other for most of their lives, both arriving on Mindoir at the age of six. They quickly became good friends and later when adolescent emotions become apparent their relationship evolved into a full blown romance. They were crazy about one another and sought to use every moment of free time to that effect.

She held on to him firmly as they raced across the grassy plains towards their destination.

**-0O0-**

**Author notes: This chapter was important as I had to establish the normal life that Shepard would have on Mindoir. Hopefully I did it right. The Elle character you might remember from Phoenix (my other FF), I went a bit deeper into their relationship and will fall back on it allot as I go forward.**

**PS To those who recieve notifications of my publications, I appologise for the reloading of my stories.**

**Please review this chapter.**


	4. Miranda: Chapter 1: The Truth

**Miranda**

**Chapter 1: The truth**

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Miranda, Happy birthday to you." The large contingent of party guests cheered to Miranda as she stood in front of the excessively large but stylishly dressed birthday cake, ready to blow out the sixteen candles that were alight on top of the cake. She took a deep breath and succeeded in blowing out all the candles.

"What did you wish for?" Her father asked over her left shoulder.

She turned around and smiled. "I can't tell father that, if I do then it won't come true. Now will it?" She said in mock accusation.

"Well, let's see if I guessed right shall we?" He said as he took her hand and led her to the ballroom glass doors that led to the balcony.

The Lawson estate on the outskirts of Sydney was built in the fifteenth century style with very large rooms throughout the mansion. The large balcony looked out across the large garden that had a large square pond with a fountain in the middle. The balcony had a wide flight of stairs that lead down to a cobble pavement on the edge of the garden.

Miranda was led by her father towards the balcony stairs along with all the party guests, eager to see the lavish gift given to Mr. Lawson's daughter. As they reached the stairs she looked towards where her father was pointing. At the bottom of the stairs was a black stallion with a giant baby blue bow on its back.

"Father, how did you know? Thank you, he's so beautiful." She said as she hug him, she was excited about the gift but she had actually wished for a violin and some lessons, but appearances were everything and so she played the role of the grateful daughter. As they came closer to the stallion Miranda reached out and started to scratch the stallion on the side of its jaw, the stallion, liking the attention turned towards her.

"So what are you going to call him?" Her father inquired.

"I think I'll call him Nielson, after my favourite composer." She said while nodding to herself that the name was appropriate. She recognised her friend holding the reins of the horse. "What do you think Niket, is Nielson a good name for him?" She asked him. Niket was one of the many servants that worked and lived on the Lawson estate and a very close confidant of Miranda, one of his newest duties was to take care of Miranda's horse.

Niket, mindful of the presence of Miranda's father only replied "Yes Miss Lawson, a very fitting name."

"Would you mind getting him a saddle, I would love to ride him today..." Miranda said but was interrupted by her father.

"Niket, take Nielson back to the stables, Miranda has guests to attend to and will have a later chance to ride." He spoke, with the later part of the sentence aimed at his daughter.

"Yes sir." Niket replied.

"But father..." Miranda pleaded but was again interrupted.

"You have guests Miranda, there will be ample time to enjoy Nielson when the party is over and you have finished with your Computer Science home work. Besides there are some people I would like you to meet." Her father said with an assertive quality that that came from one in authority.

"Yes father." Miranda said automatically, resigned to doing whatever her father told her. She proceeded to follow her father back to the ball room, looking over her shoulder as Niket lead Nielson away to the stables.

She loathed these public events that her father forced upon her; she would've preferred to enjoy her birthday alone or maybe with Niket as she didn't have any real friends except the witless daughters of her father's business partners. Miranda had no opportunity to make friends of her own as she was not allowed to go to university like regular children, her father had pulled her from normal school at the age 10 after an incident where she was caught talking to a boy at after school. Her father's excuse was that she wasn't a regular child; graduating from High School at age 12 was proof enough, but she knew it wasn't the real reason. She suspected her father had severe control issues; which were all too much focused on her.

She did correspondence courses through numerous universities; a year ago she finished a bachelor's degree in galactic business & finance through Oxford University and then started on her current degree in computer science via MIT, in between she did short courses on more specific subjects like inter galactic politics or was studying martial arts. Her current degree from MIT she would finish within the next couple of months; twelve hours a day spent studying and completing projects in days which took regular student's months. Her current project was Omni-tool espionage, most of the content was how to prevent it, but Miranda was interested in other areas. Her father's position meant she could get any supplementary information she needed and she used it to full effect. She was able to get her hands on in interesting published document that contained ways of by-passing the latest in Omni-tool security; she was planning on testing it on one of her father's apprentices.

She smiled as she thought about her plan, a plan that inherently could get her into trouble, but with all her current studies she was still a teenager and rebellion was natural, or least that was her excuse to herself.

She was listening to some fat financial director speaking about the frailty of the human economy compared to the Asari. She feigned interest as he babbled on, but was internally longing to travel off world. _Off world? Wake up Miranda, father won't even let you leave home never mind the planet. _

Eventually the party was over and she went back to her study and continued her efforts to please her father by getting another A+ for her latest project, as she was working she believed it a vain attempt. He was never satisfied, there was always another degree another achievement that she had to achieve to appease Mr. Lawson, meanwhile she achieved nothing which she enjoyed. A small tear rolled down her cheek, she felt the sadness build up as it did every night, another day she failed at winning her father's approval.

Even though she was only sixteen and had already received a degree in business and another to follow shortly, this was still not enough. It was as if she constantly failed at a test that she was not aware of, some expectation he had of her. She looked across her room at the digital photo frame of Eliza Lawson, her mother. Her father had told her years ago that her mother died while giving birth to her, she wondered how life would have been with a mother, more tears rolling down her cheek. She wiped them away angrily, _Get a grip Miranda, you have no time to cry, this project needs to be done by tomorrow, _she chided herself mentally.

Like before, she suppressed her emotions and focused on her task at hand, a trick she taught herself long ago. She stood before the massive digital projection as she continued to construct her home work.

**-0O0-**

It was Saturday morning which meant Miranda had an hour long biotic training session at 8am and then after breakfast she had five hours to herself before she had to be back for weapons training. She decided she wanted to get of the estate and she needed horse riding clothing anyway.

"G'day Miss Lawson, where are we driving you today?" Asked Matt Donnelly; Miranda's driver, as she climbed into the limo along with her 'chaperone', Kevin Lima. Kevin was a two meter tall hundred and twenty five kilogram ex Samoan rugby player whose job it was to discourage any interest directed at Miranda, especially from young men.

"Morning Matt, just type in today's date, the route is already programmed into the GPS." Miranda replied politely.

"Miss, you put me to shame, all ready doing half my job for me." He replied with a bit of humour as the limo lifted off the ground and took flight.

Miranda turned on her favourite playlist and sat back and enjoyed the scenery of the Sydney skyline, it would be about an hour or two before they reached Canberra and she had prepared some lite reading for the trip; The First Contact War: A Soldier's Perspective, by Tadius Ahern.

They eventually arrived at their destination; Mount & Saddle, a very elegant and expensive store that specialized in horse riding equipment. She went inside and bought a pair of black leather riding boots as well as a white and black riding suite with a black helmet, all top of the line equipment, the riding gloves even had a built in Omni-tool plug-in.

As she left the store she noticed a specialist computer store she had heard about and decided to go there as well. When she entered the store she started browsing through the various add-ons for Omni-tools and the latest in computer hardware and accessories. Any of the store attendants that tried to assist her quickly changed their mind when they saw the look of warning given by Kevin.

As she was looking through the wares, news was being broadcast in the store on the various display devices. She was barely paying attention when an image on one of the reports caught her attention.

"Police have identified the remains found outside Brisbane last week as Pendra Alexander, the same Pendra Alexander that disappeared eighteen years ago, pathologists believe the age of the remains co-inside with her disappearance. Her body was discovered during the construction of a new school just outside Laidlley..." Miranda's mind was in an uproar as she looked at the picture of the women on screen, it was her mother, and it was in fact the same image that was in her room right now. Miranda didn't understand why would her father lie about something like that?

The report continued, "...miss Alexander, entered the public eye when she started dating Australian billionaire Richard Lawson, their relationship ending in April 2145, three years before her disappearance. The Mr. Lawson has released a statement where he gave his condolences for her family's loss. The police have stated that Richard Lawson is not a suspect in the investigation. In other news..." Miranda was at a loss, the connection to her father was startling, this woman could not be her mother, according to this report she died two years before Miranda was born. _I have to find out more, what could this mean? _Miranda struggled to control the tears that threatened to burst forth.

"You alright Miss Lawson?" Kevin asked with a concerned tone.

Miranda look up him, "Yes Kevin I'm fine, let's leave I want to go home."

The way back home gave Miranda time to think, _if this woman wasn't really my mother then who was, or was I adopted, it doesn't make any sense. _She screamed in her head.

All the way back to the estate she went through the possibilities until they finally arrived. Grabbing her shopping bags she went up to her room and closed the door. She immediately went to her computer and tried the extranet but nothing of promise came up.

She then remembered the bugs she planted on the Oni-tools of her father's two PA's , she initially did for fun and to test her abilities, but now it could prove useful. She had created a program that would download all the AV footage directly to her terminal on a hidden fragment of hard drive space that her father would not find.

She accessed it quickly, seventy eight hours of footage was already captured and counting. She smiled to herself in satisfaction, _That was easy, _she thought_. She activated_ an audio & visual search program to focus on 'Pendra Alexander_". _After a short search yielded no results she tried 'Miranda', one result was found that found both audio and visual segments with her name; forty-nine hours ago. The Omni-tool GPS gave her co-ordinates of the location of the recording; she did not recognise it as her father's corporate offices, she ignored that mystery for a while and played the recording.

"..Miranda, isn't that the boss's daughter?" The younger PA spoke to Nick Straus, Mr Lawson's senior PA, they were in what looked like an elevator, the hidden camera was pointing up towards the PA from his own hand. Miranda had spoken to Nick numerous times and was essentially her father's second in command.

"Yep, but not in the real sense, you haven't been working for him long enough to know the real deal. I was already here when the boss created her." The Nick replied with a bragging tone.

"The other PA looked intrigued you mean that the boss created her sixteen years ago, I didn't think that tech existed back then?" He sounded impressed. Miranda recalled that the younger PA only started working with her father about six years ago; Miranda thought his name was Bill.

"Yep, Mr Lawson has been dabbling in genetics for some time now and I doubt there is a corporation that has a better program, not that anybody knows about it. The process was very similar to project Oriana, that's why we're here; he's disappointed with his previous creation and is on the verge of replacing her." He spoke as if he were discussing a failed car model.

"Replace her? But what will her do with her?" The PA said shocked. Miranda was overcome, _disappointed, he's going to replace me?_

The door of the elevator opened and they started walking , the one hidden cam showing a long white corridor with a purple line on the middle of the floor, next to the line was word repeated every five meters; Genesis. Miranda focused, _I have to pay attention, my life might depend on it._

"Keep your voice down." Nick cautioned Bill, but then he sighed. "What I am about to tell you is utterly confidential and do not misunderstand, if you leak this information, you will die and painfully! Understand!" He said in severe tone.

Bill swallowed loudly but regained his composure. "I understand I knew what I signed up for when I started, go ahead"

"Miranda is not the first one he created; only the first one he kept. So to put it bluntly, he'll get rid of her and I don't mean putting her up for adoption, you understand." Nick said coldly. "So put away your conscience and let's do this, were here." The cam showed a reinforced metal door labelled with a small sign that said "G1 Observation room".

Tears streamed down her face, she couldn't believe it. Her entire life was a lie, a forgery to disguise the ugly truth, that her father was creating genetically altered children for his own twisted ends. Never in her life had she ever felt more alone than at that moment, she paused the video footage. And started crying as she held her hands to her face, she just wept and wept. When she finally sobbed her last sob she looked down at a hollow pad that showed her super visors' remarks on her last project. "Amazing work Miss Lawson, never before have a I have marked such outstanding work, it seems as if you have been designed to achieve greatness, I have no doubt that you will achieve maximum points for your degree." Miranda focused on the words 'designed', and something clicked.

All her father's unmet expectations, her abilities, her graduating from high school and getting a degree at such a young age; it was all because her father designed her to be perfect. But she wasn't, she wasn't good enough for him, she never was. Her sorrow changed to anger as she looked at her life in a different light, every gift, every hug, everything he ever gave her was only for his own plans.

Miranda felt determination replace any sense of pity she was feeling, she looked back to the screen and restarted the video.

Nick swiped a key card in the reader and the door opened into a dark room where a figure stood in front of a large window that looked into a well lit room. The figure turned around and Miranda gasped, it was her father. "Glad you gentlemen could join me. We need to discuss details." He spoke coldly.

As the two PA's got closer the contents of the room beyond the window became apparent, it was a crib with what Miranda guessed was a six month maybe seven month old baby tucked inside. A name plaque on the crib read "Oriana 2165/11/25" a birth date, she was right; the baby was not yet seven months old.

The PA's and her father continued the conversation, detailing the plans for Miranda's 'disappearance' and Oriana's 'adoption'. The conversation went on for nearly two hours; the plan was for Miranda to be killed in a car explosion that would be blamed on a violent labour strike that would be orchestrated as well after which an 'emotional' Richard Lawson would release a statement and urging police to find the culprits responsible. The police would be provided a suspect who would be framed for the crime, it was all arranged.

_How far would he go, the sick bastard! _Miranda was determined, she didn't know how she was going to do it but she was going to get out alive, but what about Oriana? Could she allow this poor kid to suffer as she did, to waste her life on a father that could never love her, that would dispose of her as quickly as an old toaster? _No, I have to get her out too! _

Miranda was interrupted by a knock on the door.

**-0O0-**

**Author notes: WOW! That was along one, well at least for me, I didn't know I could do it, but I did. **

**I have to thank some of guys in the Miranda thread on the Bioware Social Website for their input and general dedication to the Miranda character for helping me get a grip on her personality in her teens. **

**Ieldra2, snfonseka, Yannkee, Elyvern and Fongiel24**

**Also want to thank **andysilv87 for his help as well.

**I also want to state that I am not reading any other writer's depiction of this time in Miranda's life, so any similarities are purely coincidental.**

**PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASE review this chapter!**


	5. Shepard: Chapter 2: Attack

**Shepard**

**Chapter 2 – Attack**

**Close to Omega**

"Balack," The batarian captain called as he looked towards the yellow faced underling entering the briefing room.

"Yes Captain," Balack replied while saluting his leader.

"Inform the armada of our destination; make sure their ready, because as soon as we enter the system we'll be heading straight for Mindoir. Understand?" The leader ordered.

"Yes sir!" Balack said and then left for the bridge.

The batarian captain, clad in red assault armour looked back towards his fellow captains. His name was Ragnak, he was the leader of The Dark Legion, one of the most powerful and successful slaver bands in the Terminus systems. The armada currently awaiting departure to Mindoir consisted of ten fighters, forty drop ships, twenty frigates and the flag ship, a cruiser aptly called The Black Heart.

They were the biggest, baddest, most organized slaver gang and the only group that would even dare attack a council planet in the Traverse, but then again they were only going target human planets.

The Batarian Hegemony had started pushing credits towards The Dark legion and groups like them soon after the Batarian embassy closed on the Citadel, urging them to attack human targets in the Traverse. The Hegemony knew how galactic politics worked, and they knew the council wouldn't do anything to help the human colonies that were so close to the Terminus Systems.

Ragnak was all too familiar of how the council treated 'lesser' species. Not that he felt sorry for the humans, quite the opposite actually, he despised them and would enjoy killing the weaker humans who were not taken as slaves. He accepted the money quickly and absolutely planned on holding his end of the bargain, the assault to come was eagerly anticipated.

"Now where were we?" Ragnak turned his attention to the task at hand.

"We were talking about defence sir. I was saying that if we setup a defensive perimeter over here we could keep the Alliance reinforcements busy enough so we can complete our pickup," One of the captains said as he pointed to the holographic map now illuminated in front of them.

"Yes, this could be quite a haul if we can keep the line. You up for the job Charneck?" Ragnak asked his second in command and brother; who always led the ground assault on any of their assaults. No one was better at leading a slaver run than Charneck.

"Absolutely," He snorted. "This pathetic human colony is practically begging us to end their meaningless existence. Such a small garrison, so few air defence canons and it will take hours for the human fleets to respond. It almost looks too easy."

"Don't underestimate the humans! They defeated the Turians when they liberated Shanxy, which was only their second encounter with a space fairing species, they adapted from their first defeat from the Turians and then retaliated with overwhelming force, I repeat don't underestimate them!" Ragnak warned his captains, he hated complacency and had no patience for it in his own men, but he couldn't help feeling optimistic. This looked like it was going to be a very lucrative slave grab with very low casualties expected.

"True." Replied Charneck. "But this isn't an invasion. By the time the human fleets arrive, we will be loading many slaves on the drop ships and our 'hostages' will stop the humans from firing on us directly. They will be forced to land and assault us from this direction." He pointed towards the spot on the map. "But unfortunately for them we will have erected a very strong defensive position and it would be very difficult for them to pass. By the time they gain the advantage we will have sacked the whole colony." He said with confidence.

"And that my friend is why you lead the assault," The batarian captain said as he smiled in anticipation.

**-0O0-**

"The night sky is so beautiful here," Elle spoke softly while looking up into the night sky.

"The lights closer to town make it difficult to see the stars, but out here...," Derrick trailed off as he waved his hand in a gesture towards the stars.

They were mid way up a mountain peak north west of New Calvin, they had no need to hike to far as they travelled most of the way with the Sanchez, and it was only a short climb to find their secret meadow. The night was silent, only insects and a slight breeze could be heard as they lay in each other's arms on a maroon cotton blanket which rested on the soft grass of the meadow. The meadow was illuminated by the radiance of the two large moons orbiting the planet, the larger one a slight shade of red with a huge scar on the face of it while the other a remarkable white with a light blue shade.

This particular grassy meadow was a favourite spot of theirs, even before they became romantically involved. When they were younger and only friends they discovered the meadow when on a camping trip with both their parents. Back then it was like a fairy tale, a secluded place for them to be alone and in their own world; and tonight they wanted to be alone.

"You ever wonder what it's like...travelling through the stars, seeing different worlds," Elle wondered out loud. She had always dreamed of leaving this small colony and one day exploring the reaches of space. It wasn't that she was bored or anything, but rather she was an explorer and she felt there was so much more to see and staying in one place for your whole life felt like such a waste to her.

"Well, sometimes. I don't think about it that much. Everything I need is right here, especially in the immediate vicinity," He spoke the last part softly in her ear and then started kissing it delicately. He was trying to distract her; Derrick felt that life on Mindoir was perfect, he loved the quiet nights and beautiful country side, and he wanted to stay on Mindoir for the rest of his life, preferably with Elle. Mindoir without Elle made it a much less appealing prospect.

Elle, oblivious to his attempt to change the subject, continued. "I want to see it all Derrick; the Citadel, Illium, Eden Prime, Thesia... there is so much to see, I couldn't name them all if I wanted to." She sighed, pondering her future travels.

Derrick sighed. "And how are you going to do all this? Do you have some secret stash of credits that I don't know about or a ship that will do the job? Mmmm?" He inquired teasingly.

"Maybe." She looked at him and said with a mischievous grin.

"But no, seriously, how do you think you're going to do all this one day?" He said while trying to sound like he was teasing her. In all honesty he wanted to dissuade her from such a grand, and in his eyes, unrealistic dream.

"I don't know," She replied defensively. "I still have some time to figure it out. I have thought about some options."

"Ok, let me hear it," He said, still trying to be casual.

"Well...I've thought about studying inter-galactic diplomacy or colony development back on Earth, but I doubt my parents could afford it so I would need to look at some government funding or maybe if I do really well I could get a scholarship or I could always join the Alliance. Then I will be sure to see..." She was interrupted by Derrick.

"You want to join the military? What exactly would you do there?" He said while trying to sound casual or mocking, he didn't know which. The thought of Elle in any type of danger was extremely unsettling.

"I don't know, maybe a space pilot, navigator, soldier...I don't know," She said defensively. She couldn't understand his abrupt response and it put her off balance.

"You, a soldier? Your way too hot to be soldier, you'd get your whole squad killed just because they'd be staring at you the whole time instead of the enemy!" He said with a teasing grin, changing his tone to sound light hearted. He didn't like this talk of leaving Mindoir, especially when he was planning to stay, he loved Elle and wanted her to stay with him, but the thought of her fighting in the Alliance was not a happy one.

"Very funny" She replied and then rolled on top of him. "So you think you could do a better job do you?" She said while looking down at him.

He was caught off guard by her abrupt manoeuvre and was at a loss for words. He looked at her and caught his breath. She was amazingly beautiful, the stars and the moons illuminating her from odd angles made her look breath taking, and the fact that she just mounted him made his body react. She noticed both and smiled.

"What now, cat got your tongue?" She said with a giggle, enjoying her effect on him.

Remembering it was his turn to speak he replied. "No, just thinking how good an admiral I'd be." As he recovered he made a mocking grin. "You know, I could call in some favours, when I reach the top, you know, to get you a promotion or two..." She interrupted him with tickling attempts on his abdomen. "Oh you would, would you?" She said as she assaulted his sides.

Under barrage of her tickling onslaught he had only one choice, he quickly and gently flipped her over and rolled on top of her, pinning her hands gently above her head. Her hair fell in black silk waves on the picnic blanket and her eyes shown like silver blue orbs, her cheeks were flushed and she was panting with excitement. The playful atmosphere had disappeared as they stared into each other's eyes for moments that felt like years.

Derrick swallowed nervously as he remembered the reason why they decided to make this trip. He gently released her wrists and lowered himself down, watching her face for any sign that his actions were unwanted, he saw only anticipation.

"Are you sure?" He asked her.

She understood what he meant "Yes...I...I want you Derrick," She said softly but with a bit of nervousness. She pulled herself up to his lips and kissed him, and then whispered into his ear. "I love you Derrick Shepard".

"And I love you Elle Daniels," He said and then kissed her.

**-0O0-**

**Six hours later above the planet of Mindoir**

The dark energy of the Minsju relay erupted as the Dark Legion armada appeared; blue streaks of mass effect fields trailed behind the vessels as they came to abrupt stop after travelling at speeds that were unattainable apart from the mass relays.

Only twenty one ships were visible, twenty frigates and a large cruiser, but shortly after arrival ten fighters exited the cruiser and descended towards the planet below. The twenty frigates started to spread out, each one carried two drop ships connected to either side of the hull. It was a Batarian pirate trick that deceived trading ships into believing the enemy was a smaller threat than it actually was. The drop ships served as pickups for the slave grabs, after the drop ships were full then they would return to their designated frigates and off load the captured slaves unto the frigates which could hold near five thousand slaves each. Each drop ship would have to make at least seven full runs back and forth from the planet or station being raided.

Charneck entered his own drop ship with a fifty Batarian slavers; combined with the other landing vessels this amounted to a strike force of up to two thousand.

He smiled as he thought about his leader's ingenuity. The plan was simple; destroy planetary defences, land drop ships and overwhelm ground forces, load slaves on drop ships and make as many trips back to the frigates as possible within estimated Alliance response time, then an hour before Alliance reinforcements were set to arrive the cruiser and frigates would take the relay back to the Terminus, leaving the drop ships to make one more grab and then follow the main fleet back to a designated meeting point. If the Alliance arrived while drop ships were still busy, they would disperse with as many slaves as possible using FTL drives, each drop ship would use a different route. This strategy allowed for a possible extra grab of up to ten thousand slaves. The best part was this; kill all humans not fitting slave requirements; it was stipulation by the Hegemony for credits given that slaver raids cause as much damage as possible to human colonies; Charneck had no problem holding to that condition.

In theory the Black Legion could capture a maximum of hundred thousand slaves if they were not interrupted, best they ever accomplished was between fifty and seventy thousand Vorcha slaves on a grab about two years prior.

This slave grab promised to surpass their previous best. Humans were a new commodity on the slave market and they could fetch a high price and earn their captors a very high return on investment.

The drop ships disengaged from the frigates; pressurized air hissing as the ships detached and moved slowly towards the planet and then halted in a scattered formation above the atmosphere as they waited silently for the fighters to destroy the air defence systems on the planet surface.

Charneck stood behind his pilot looking at the control terminal, in the middle of the display a red light turned green.

"That's our signal! All ships descend, time to go fishing boys."

All forty ships descended towards the planet.

**-0O0-**

Derrick opened his eyes sleepily and looked up at the roof of his tent and he felt the warm figure of Elle next to him, he felt somewhat anxious and couldn't understand why. He noticed it was still dark when he heard rumblings outside; he tried to pay attention to the sounds and heard what sounded like explosions when a loud sharp noise went over the tent. Elle woke instantly with a fright.

"What the hell was that, whose flying around this early in the...," She spoke but he interrupted her.

"Shhhhh, keep quit, I thought I heard something else," He said and then there was a rumbling sound combined with other sounds. "We need to take a look outside, something big is happing." He stated.

They both quickly put on a pants and t-shirts and left the tent as a cold early morning breeze chilled them both in their thin t-shirts, they looked out towards the valley and what they saw then chilled them even more.

Far down the valley the lights of New Calvin illuminated its surroundings, but what stood out even more were the fires blazing from several places around the settlement. The rumblings they heard earlier were the aerial defence canons firing at almost a dozen small aircraft that were attacking New Calvin. As they stared in shock the last canon went silent after the explosion violently illuminated the night sky, the canon's last shot hit one of the attacking planes and it spiralled down in a blaze towards a distant hill and exploded on impact.

Derrick stood silent for a few moments and then suddenly moved towards the tent. Elle noticed his movement, "What are you doing?"

"We need to warn our parents, I'm just getting my communicator," Derrick said as he searched through his backpack. "Here it is." Right away he called his father, but the heard nothing but static, he tried again but still only static. "They must be jamming local communication." Derrick said as his mind raced. He was trying to think of what to do but could only think of two alternatives; should he risk his life and Elle's and go back home to find their parents? Or hope their parents got out safe and stay in the mountains till it's over? He was torn; he didn't want to endanger Elle but he feared for his parents. Another alternative came to mind. He looked at Elle, tears streaming down her face as she looked back at him. He made the decision.

He walked towards her and embraced her. "I'm scared Derrick, what should we do." She said her voice hitched as she spoke. "Elle, I need to ask you a favour, I'm going to go back home and try to find our parents, but... I want...no, I need you to stay here, ok," He said while holding her tear streaked face to his chest.

She looked up at him is surprise then embraced him harder, "No, why? I don't want to leave you, what if something happens, I...," She said franticly but he interrupted her by lifting her chin so he could see her face. "Elle, you need to stay here, it's safer, I will find our parents and get them out of there, but I can't do that if I have to watch out for you too, please understand..."

"No you understand Derrick, I am coming with you, firstly because you can't do this alone and secondly you need someone to watch your back and finally if you think that I am just going wait here like some damsel in distress while you get yourself killed then you don't know me at all!" She interrupted him this time.

Derrick frowned; her expression gave him the distinct impression that he was not going to change her mind. "Fine," He said in resignation. "But stick close to me and no heroics, we get in and we get out, just our parents, ok. We can't help anybody else." He assertively added.

She looked at him and nodded. "Thank you." She whispered

Derrick just nodded, "Ok, let's finish up and get going, I don't know how much time we have."

At that moment the sounds of the aircraft circling combined with added sounds as more ships entered the valley, these ships were much bigger than the fighters that were hovering around the city. Derrick started to count, "Forty ships. Quick we need to hurry...," Just as he said it they watched as a vehicle tried to leave the besieged settlement, it was about three hundred meters out when a fighter plane broke formation and fired directly on the vehicle, the transport burst into flames.

"Come, we need get going?" They both finished getting dressed and started out, they left the tent but Derrick grabbed the high powered hunting rifle his father had given him on his sixteenth birthday only a couple of months ago. The continent which New Calvin was on had few predators that would attack humans, but there was a species of large thick skinned herbivores that were easily angered and were known to charge humans for no apparent reason, the rifle was given to Derrick to defend himself against such an attack. He was already skilled in using the weapon as he enjoyed practising at his own shooting range back on the farm.

The hike back to the bike took about an hour as the darkness hampered their descent but the sun soon started to rise, they found the Sanchez right where they left it, but before they mounted the hover bike Derrick turned around and took Elle's hands and held it to his chest. "I don't know what we'll find over there, but know this, I love you Elle." He said and then kissed her. "I love you to Derrick." She replied solemnly.

The got on the Sanchez and pulled away towards the colony. They both noticed that the fighters no longer circled the settlement and could no longer be seen. Derrick travel behind a large hill that could conceal them as they travelled towards the outer edges of the settlement.

Less than an hour later they reached the hill that over looked the Shepard and Daniels farms. Derrrick pulled the Sanchez to a halt and they both climbed off and slowly moved to the top of the hill; Derrick signalling that they should crawl the last couple of meters to stay inconspicuous. They reached the top and looked down towards the fields below. In the distance they could see that the Daniels home was on fire as a tall column of smoke rose from the large flames. Fresh tears started streaming down Elle's face at the site of her home in flames; she could only hope her parents were not still inside.

"Elle look," Derrick whispered as pointed towards his own home.

The north side of the Shepard home was less than two hundred meters away, in front of the east facing porch stood four armed Batarians, laughing as they were kicking the prone figure of a man who looked like it could be Elle's father. That moment four more came out of the house escorting three other people; both of Derrick's parents and Elle's mother. They forced their captives down on their knees, took a couple of steps back, aimed and fired their assault rifles in full automatic, the high velocity rounds punching right through the unshielded and unarmored civilians.

Both Derrick and Elle could only watch in silent horror as their parents were murdered right in front of their eyes. Elle could not contain her agony anymore and was about to scream when Derrick put his hand over her mouth and held her still. Tears ran freely on both their faces.

They eventually stopped firing, either because their weapons overheated or they were finished with their 'fun'. The one standing over Mr. Daniels pulled out his side arm and fired three shots into the head of the prone farmer, afterwards they all just walked away still laughing, one of them tossing something into the house and moments later the house burst into flames.

Derrick was stunned; he couldn't process the events he just witnessed. Only hours ago everything was fine, perfect even, he had just had the most amazing night of his life, and now he had nothing, nothing except Elle. He looked at her; her head resting on his chest as her body rocked as she wept. She was completely overcome; he could only hold her and comfort her.

After a moment or two, Derrick realised that they were still in a lot of danger; they had to get as far away from the settlement as possible until help arrived.

"Elle...Elle we need to get out of here." She was still inconsolable.

"There's nothing we can do Elle, we..."

"Hey human." A odd sounding voice came from behind him.

Derrick turned around startled by the voice, he only saw a glimpse of the Batarian's face before the butt of rifle was slammed hard in his face, knocking him on his back, stars danced in his vision and then he saw Elle looking at him and sobbing, his vision went blurry and then he black out.

-0O0-

Out of the darkness came all different kind of sounds, Batarians barking orders, women and children crying, men grunting with pain as the were beaten, nearby fires raging, gun fire in the distance and lastly the pounding in his head as he started to gain consciousness. He lay uncomfortably on his side with his hands tied behind his back with some form of handcuffs. He slowly opened his eyes but the brightness of midday forced him to do so slowly. His eyes eventually adjusted and he saw Elle looking down at him in a defeated expression. Blood, dirt and fresh tears covered her face, he might not have recognised her if it weren't for her beautiful blue eyes.

"Derrick, oh thank goodness you're ok. I thought they hit your head too hard," Elle said in relief as she leaned over and placed her head in his shoulder; both her hands were also cuffed.

"No, I think I'm ok, my head hurts like hell, but I'll live. I'm going to try to sit up," He replied and uneasily raised himself to at least sitting up straight.

Getting a better view of his surroundings he was taken aback by the sheer amount of devastation and sorrow that now dominated the settlement of New Calvin. It looked like they were in the large courtyard in the centre of town, the city hall was in flames and dead bodies were everywhere, their blood staining the courtyard floor. Derrick and Elle were sitting with a very large group of other colonists, he guessed it was well over a thousand people still sitting there, all of them where either in their early teens or in their mid thirties. He had been wondering why they were still alive and now he understood; they were being taken as slaves; the slavers having killed the other colonists as they had no need for those that were not expectable as slaves.

He started to feel Elle's despair as he contemplated the life that laid ahead for them both, a life of slavery, it was only last night that she spoke so passionately about seeing the galaxy, this all seemed like a sick mockery of that dream.

"Get moving you pathetic human!" Shouted the Batarian when he was shoving a colonist towards one of the large ships which looked like it was meant to transport the captured slaves. He could see that the ship's cargo area was already full with colonists, but the other two ships were still empty and would surely take the rest of the people sitting in the courtyard. He noticed on the side of the ship was an emblem, a black Batarian skull on a yellow star.

His attention was drawn to the sounds of gun fire in the distance that were getting louder and it seemed to make the Batarian work more quickly towards loading of the slaves, it was a matter of minutes when there was only fifty to a hundred colonists left.

"Derrick" He turned towards Elle as she spoke. "Whatever happens...I want you to know...that...that... the last few months have been the happiest time of my life, and that I will always love you," She said anxiety and grief tainting her usually tender voice.

"No Elle, don't talk like that, it will be alright...we'll...," He said feebly as a kick struck his shoulder hard and he hit the ground.

"Shut up you human filth!" The Batarian barked at him. "It's time to go..." The slaver taunted but was interrupted as his head exploded from the force of a sniper shot.

"The human soldiers have broken through, return fire," Ordered one of the slavers.

_The Alliance, we're saved! _Hope flooded Derrick's mind, he realized it was just in time as there was only half a dozen colonists left including him and Elle.

"It's no use, they'll overrun us, each take a slave, were leaving," Shouted the same Batarian, he must have been the leader.

Then the nearest Batarian reached to grab Elle, but Derrick desperately got to his feet and launched himself shoulder first into the Batarian, shoving him away from her. The slaver recovered and responded by slamming the back of his rifle down on Derrick's head. He went down hard, stars dancing in his vision.

"Stop messing around Balack, take the girl and kill the boy now, we need to leave," The leader barked.

The Batarian nodded his head and turned his gun towards Derrick and pulled the trigger, but a faint clicking sound came from the rifle instead of a metal slug. The Batarian banged his palm into the rifle and tried again but still it was jammed. "This is your lucky day human!" He said frustrated and levelled a hard kick to Derrick's stomach, lifting him off the ground slightly and knocking his wind out, making him gasp for breath. The Batarian smiled and then picked up Elle and started carrying her over his shoulder towards the ship.

Derrick tried to move, to do something to stop this nightmare, but dizzy from the blow to his head and out of breath from the kick to his midsection he could only fall to his side as he looked on in dismay as the only person he had left in his life was taken away. His vision started to blur and right before he blacked out again he saw Elle's screaming face, her terrifying screams for him was the last thing he heard as everything went black.

-0O0-

The Alliance soldiers looked on in silence as they took in the scene of Mindoir's only settlement; tens-of-thousands of colonists lay dead, some piled on to heaps of hundreds of bodies, others merely left were they were shot and some were half eaten, most likely by Varen.

2nd Lieutenant Ernesto Zabaleta led his team cautiously towards where the last drop ship had taken off with what looked like the remaining colonists. A Varen was busy chewing on one of the dead colonists to the right of his squad; he gave the signal to his gunnery chief who quickly dispatched it.

"You hear that sir?" Chief Marco Rocha asked his team leader.

"I don't hear anything Rocha?" Zabaleta questioned.

"That's it sir, no wailing, shouting or movement, I don't hear anybody, it's like everybody's gone or dead. How could this happen?" Rocha replied.

"I don't know Marco, I don't know," Zabaleta said, he then pressed his finger to his ear. "Alfa company is clear, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, status?" He communicated to the other teams in the area.

"Bravo clear!"

"Charlie clear!"

"Delta Clear, there all gone sir, any Batarians left behind got cut down by us when we flanked them."

"Roger! Admiral Marsh do you read me sir?" Zabaleta called on his radio.

"Loud and clear Lieutenant, what's the status?" The admiral replied from his command deck onboard the SSV Einstein.

"It's bad sir, I'm not sure if there are any survivors, but it's clear of hostiles sir."

"Thank you Lieutenant, I will dispatch the aid vessels to assist, over and out."

"Ok men, squad one to three create a parameter around the courtyard, the rest of you look for survivors."

"Yes sir," They replied in unison.

Although he ordered the search he had little hope of finding survivors. He looked about at the amount brutality, not only were captives taken, but all colonists too old or too young were killed, many of them were shot many times, he shook his head at the cruelty of it all. He walked past a wall covered in blood and littered with bullet holes, the bodies of the executed lay slumped against the wall, to the far right laid a girl maybe eight years old with a baby in her arms, her eyes closed, never to open again.

The Lieutenant was on the edge of losing it when someone called. "Sir, we found a survivor, sir, we found one!"

Zabaleta turned and hurried towards the corporal standing over a boy that was possibly fifteen or sixteen years old. The boy was laying still on the ground, a large bruise on his face indicated a blunt weapon was used, most likely the butt of a rifle."Medic, we need a medic here!"

Shortly after calling, a medic came and started treating the boy. "It looks like he might have some broken ribs and a concussion; he's not critical but I would like to get him back to the Einstein as soon as possible sir," The medic reported to his CO.

"All right Doc, catch the nearest transport back to the ship. It seems like the aid vessels have arrived. Michaels?"

"Yes sir?"

"Signal an aid vessel to this location, we need med-evac."

"Yes sir." "Calling all aid vessels, this is ground control, we need...," The comms officer continued to relay the command.

"Sir," The medic called his CO.

"Yes doc."

"He's conscious sir."

Zabaleta kneeled down by the boy. "It's ok son, we've got you, you'll be just fine." The lieutenant tried to be reassuring.

The kid looked up dizzily towards the two soldiers standing over him but his eyes were glazed over like he was staring right through them.

The lieutenant didn't know what to say, it was obvious that this kid was traumatized and nothing he said could help him now. _This kid is going to need a lot of therapy, damn Batarian bastards!_

"What's your name son?" The medic asked.

The boy looked at the other soldier with a pained look, "Shepard, my name is Shepard."

**-0O0-**

**All right, another chapter finished. Hope everybody likes my depiction of the events of Mindoir and Shepard's actions. My idea was that I didn't want a super teenager who possibly kills a couple of slavers or something. I wanted him to be a normal colonial teenager in a crazy situation just trying to survive; the next chapters on Shep will most likely revolve about how he deals with his new life, but immediately will be another Miranda chapter. Stay tuned.**

**Please review.**


	6. Miranda: Chapter 2: Preparation

**Miranda: Chapter 2: Preparation**

The pillow fell with soft thud on the wooden floor, ten meters back Miranda collapsed to her knees, sweat dripping of her forehead, she was out of breath and her vision was going blurry.

"Dammit!" She scolded herself out loud. She had yet failed to achieve a viable biotic pull; after five minutes of focus and determination the pillow did finally lift off the ground, but after an insignificant two seconds it fell back to the floor, and to add insult to injury she was also exhausted from the effort.

Miranda was a remarkable biotic for a sixteen year old girl; most human biotics only started to show effective results at around eighteen or twenty. Miranda on the other hand could already manage a biotic push with the force of around three hundred Newton's, she even started to show decent results with warp, but any time she even tried to pull or lift anything it left her exhausted and without any credible results. Her struggles with mass lowering were contradictory, she did well with push but when any higher form of control was needed she failed.

"Someone has not been practicing." The coy remark came from the Asari instructor standing next to her. Miranda could spare the energy to throw a side long glare at her. She was an ex-Asari commando now turned private biotic trainer; usually human children with biotic potential went to BAAT, but Miranda got her own personal Asari trainer.

"Well, I guess that's it for today. Miranda, you will have to practice more often, if you can't even handle pull then you will never be able to create a barrier, please keep that in mind." She said condescendingly as she left the dojo.

"I'll try my best Miss Niyala," Miranda said sarcastically from her spot on the floor. She was still exhausted from her training session.

Moments later she heard footsteps. "Miss Lawson." A butler came in through the open door with a tray with food.

"Thank you Jeffery, you're a lifesaver," Miranda replied friendly.

"No thanks necessary Miss Lawson, your father instructed us to provide you with adequate sustenance after biotic training, I understand it burns a very high amount of calories."

"Thank you none the less Jeffery

"Miss Lawson, if you will excuse me." The butler bowed, and left the room.

She sat in silence while eating her food on the dojo floor, her thoughts changing from her current failure in biotic training to contemplating the events of recent days. It was exactly two weeks since she discovered the truth about her father, her 'creation' and her impending murder which would be on the coming weekend. It was due to her incredible acumen for all things electronic that allowed her to discover almost every detail surrounding her father's plans. It also aided her in attaining the files pertaining to her creation and her 'sisters' that were previously disposed of.

A miners' strike was currently raging through Australia and was noticeably getting more heated with riots breaking out across the country and the mining company in question was owned by her father. She knew that the strike was all part of his plan and she already knew the names of the poor miners who would be framed for her murder. After her death, her father would publicly condemn the terrorist attack on his family and would also wow to end the strike as soon as possible to end further bloodshed.

Miranda felt sick as she realised how many lives would be affected by her 'death', by her father's egotistical designs, by his willingness to kill his only daughter and destroy the lives of others in the process. To think how many people would be hurt or killed in the explosion alone, not to mention the damage caused by the violence during the strike.

She sighed in resignation, _there's nothing I can do about it, I can save myself and Oriana and I need to focus on that._

She went over the plan in her head, she felt confident of being able to escape unharmed, but saving her genetic twin Oriana was another matter altogether; she was kept in a high security science lab just outside of Sydney. Miranda had attained all the necessary security information but she would almost certainly encounter security personnel that she would have to deal with, most likely in a violent manner. Miranda had never killed a person before; being only sixteen she never had the need, but she had a feeling that would change this coming weekend. She wondered to herself if she would be able to do it, to pull the trigger so to speak, if someone were to get in her way? She had all the tools needed to kill a human being, martial arts training, reasonable skill in biotics and most recently, a small degree of small arms training.

She smiled to herself as she remembered how she obtained a pistol and training in the last two weeks. She had deftly brought up the subject with her father at breakfast one morning, using her inefficient biotic skills as an excuse to learn to use a weapon. Her father agreed only after telling her that she would have to practice her biotics more often. She practiced with her pistol every free moment she had. With a fire arm, biotics and her level of tech abilities, she was well prepared for a task any normal teenager would have no chance of accomplishing.

The plan had its risks, risks that would almost certainly disappear if she were to leave Oriana and only save herself, but in the end she decided the risks were worth it. She could not and would not allow her father to do to her sister what he did to her.

There was one dilemma that Miranda had not yet solved; what if she succeeded, what then? Surely her father had the power and connections to find and capture her and Oriana once they left Earth. She needed help and fast.

She finished eating and stood up to go take a shower before returning to 'studying'; her father believed her to be studying for her exam series on Monday, but it was this allocated time that Miranda had to search for possible allies who might shelter her and Oriana at the very least for a short time.

**-0O0-**

Miranda could not believe it, she had spent the last five hours looking for any solution that could provide sanctuary for herself and Oriana but she could find no group that either her father had no influence over or was safe enough to approach. She was about to give up when by chance she spotted an irregular payment her father had made to an organization called Honduras Collective, the payment was obscured in his financial statements. She quickly ran a search and discovered the organization in question was supposedly an NGO that helped the poor and needy in Honduras.

_Something about this isn't right; Father is a well known philanthropist who contributes publicly to all kinds' of aid organizations using the additional publicity to his advantage, why would he contribute to one so secretly?_

Miranda decided to investigate the NGO more deeply, she attempted to hack their system but found surprisingly high amount of security firewalls and many on the same level as her father's corporate files. _An NGO with corporate level firewalls? Not likely! _Miranda persisted; some of the firewalls were of even higher quality and pushed her to the limit of her ability. Eventually she broke through and mined the data as quickly as she could; she found various other 'organizations' linked to the NGO and on a hunch compared that to other financial information from her father's statements. She discovered more obscured donations to these other NGO's; it was obvious that these were just fronts for a larger organization that wished to keep the authorities from discovering who their donors were really supporting. _Who could they be?_

She continued to hack through the ghost corporations disguised in numerous forms, NGO's, business', investments etc. There was only one word that connected all the fake entities: Cerberus. Miranda quickly ran a different search on 'Cerberus'. The first result gave the origin of the word: '(Greek mythology) the three-headed dog guarding the entrance to Hades' _Ominous._ She looked at the other results that contained numerous news sites as well as supporter sites pertaining to the organization known as Cerberus.

She spent the next hour going through all the articles she could find about the secretive organization, most of the reports were speculative and gave little information, but eventually she found the original manifesto written shortly after the First Contact War, the author was dubbed "The Illusive Man". The manifesto petitions for a force to be created to protect human interest a Cerberus, it states that a human genocide by alien species is a distinct eventuality and that humanity needs to look out for its own interests if it is to survive.

Miranda thought of the implications of her father's actions and what benefit she could garner from it. Could Cerberus help her? If they strived for the advancement of humanity then she could work for them in return for protection from her father, but would they help her? Her father gave generously to Cerberus and would surely stop if they were to help her escape.

Did she have any other choice, few people could appose her father but a group like Cerberus could. She was decided; she would get in contact with Cerberus and request their help.

She continued to follow the trail through the ghost companies; it took her only half an hour, when suddenly she entered a blank page that only asked for a password, there was no logo or any other text. She launched the same crack program she created to crack the passwords of her father's network, minutes later it looked like she was in when her entire display went dead.

'Whoa, what just happened?" She cautiously backed away from the display, not knowing what to do.

Seconds later a large assortment of numbers appeared on her display, the numbers moved together to form a large face, after a couple of silent moments the face spoke.

"Very impressive, Miss Lawson," The voice was distorted like a kidnapper in a cheesy movie.

"You are first person to hack into this database, but unfortunately your anti-detection software was not sufficient enough to hide your presence once you entered this server, still very impressive."

Miranda sat in silence, shocked that someone could gain control of her interface so easily. "Who are you?" She spoke softly.

"Who I am is not important, who we are is Cerberus, but based on your recent search results I assume you already know that?"

Miranda was caught off guard by the amount of information they had on her, but she recovered, "I want to contact you, I have an offer."

"We are listening?"

"I want to join the organization, but in return I need protection."

"Why would we want to hire you?"

Miranda was prepared for this question "I am only sixteen years old and I almost hacked your database, plus it took me only two hours to uncover a substantial portion of your financial network as well as gathering enough evidence to pin the richest man in humanity as a supporter of Cerberus. But that's just my tech skills, I was also genetically engineered to be superior in every way, to prove this I finished high school at the age of twelve, I already have two university degrees and I am a talented biotic, do you want me to continue?" She said with a smirk, but internally she hoped it was enough.

"Interesting." It kept silent for several minutes before speaking again. "We will consider your offer; we will contact you tomorrow night at the same time and in the same manner." The face said before disappearing before her display returned to normal.

Miranda couldn't believe it; she found a possible ally, a very powerful on at that.

**-0O0-**

**Cerberus HQ, location unknown**

A man in his mid forties sat in a chair within a open spaced office, the one half of the room's exterior wall was made of thick hardened glass which allowed for a massive panoramic view of nearby star, the soft rumblings of the massive fireball sounded similar to powerful waves pounding against rocks in the distance. In front of the man was an advanced and complicated amalgamation of holographic displays, he was busy studying a report from a Cerberus cell on Pragia when a soft bleep announced that one of his top operatives was calling him.

He swept his left arm in a sweeping motion and the giant display system moved out of his line of sight, seconds later a large holographic display was assembling in the centre of the room, when it was finished a image of a Asian women in her early thirties, dressed in a tight fitting white and black body suit with the Cerberus logo emblazed on her left shoulder. Her hair was jet black and hung past her shoulder in a neat oriental style, two long hair pins fixed horizontally on the back of her head.

"Aida," The man greeted the woman.

"Illusive Man," Aida returned the greeting.

Aida was The Illusive Man's top agent, one of few operatives that were allowed to meet him personally. She had earned this right by achieving many successful missions as well as proving her loyalty on many occasions. She was a highly skilled spy, assassin, leader, organiser and was blessed with a brilliant mind that allowed her to lead different types of operations from espionage to science teams. In Cerberus there was no one better than Aida Nagato.

"What's your report?"

"You know Richard James Lawson, his daughter almost hacked our internal network only an hour ago."

The Illusive Man's silence encouraged her to continue.

"Her purpose was to contact Cerberus; she wants protection in exchange for joining Cerberus, the related files from her personal terminal as well as her conversation with network security have been sent to you."

With a small motion of his hand he brought his display back in front of him, with a few additional motions he had the information he needed, his eyes scanned through the information in front of him while he listening to the recorded conversation. The female operative waited patiently for him to finish.

After a couple of minutes he spoke, "Thank you Aida, I will handle it from here."

"Of course sir." She bowed slightly and turned leave the room.

"Aida?" She turned back towards him.

"Finish up your current assignment or select a replacement by tomorrow, I need you free to take on a more important assignment."

"Yes sir," she replied and walked out of the room. She was slightly perplexed at his request but had learnt not to question the decisions of her superior. She contemplated possible replacements for herself as she walked further away from his office.

The Illusive Man continued to star at the information in front of him, a slow smile spreading across his face.

**-0O0-**

The next morning Miranda went to the stables for a morning ride on her horse Nielson, but her main reason was to speak to Niket; she needed help with the escape plan and he was the only person she could trust.

She entered the stables and spotted Niket standing next to Nielson; giving him a brush over.

"Morning Niket."

"Oh...morning Miri, you startled me there for a moment."

"Sorry, I thought I would take Nielson for a ride around the grounds, you mind joining me with Rufus?" Miranda said in a tone that made Niket understand that she wanted to talk to him in private.

"Sure, we can take the usual path."

Moments later they were both galloping away towards their private little spot on the Lawson Estate. There were many surveillance devices on the Lawson Estate; this included cameras and listening devices. Miranda had discovered a spot which had no coverage and where she could speak to him in private.

While they were riding they spoke about rudimentary things to pass the time; Miranda laughing at some of he's jokes. After a while they arrived at the 'clear' area and demounted from their horses.

"So, what's up?" Niket inquired.

"Niket, I have to leave father."

"Why?" He asked mystified.

Miranda then explained what she discovered about her father's plan while not mentioning anything about Oriana or her contact with Cerberus. _The less he knows the better...for him,_ she rationalised to herself.

After listing to her story he replied, "I understand why you have to leave, but why are you telling me?"

"Their plan is to kill me tomorrow Niket, in Sydney CBD, I need you to pick me up in the CBD once I escape the assassination attempt and get me out. Once we get out of the city I will drop you off at the Space Port with a ticket to Nos Astra and enough money to last you a year. Once I get of the planet I will get in contact with you." She said quickly and urgently.

"Your father is a dangerous man Miri, he will find me and..."

Miranda interrupted him. "You will be the first person my father will question when he discovers I made it out alive, if you stay here you will be in much more danger, you must understand Niket he is ruthless and will do anything to stop me. This is the best plan for us both."

He sighed in resignation, "Your right, you're always right." He was happy with this life he had, but he also cared for Miranda and couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her, so he agreed.

"Thank you Niket. I have already organized fake identification for you and have set up false records that show you travelling to Elysium instead of your real destination, Nos Astra, so don't worry. After everything is cooled down we can work to get you settled there, you deserve a better life than what my father is giving you."

"Me? What about you, what will you do for money or protection from your father?"

"Miranda was not ready to answer this question, "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself, and besides the less you know the better."

"Fine, so what are the details?" He asked, resigned to the plan of action.

Miranda explained the timing, where she would find him and the location of the sky car he would be using. She gave him the fully loaded credit chit and gave him a hug. "Thank you Niket, remember, timing is crucial, you have to be there on time!" She said before the both mounted their horses and returned to the stables.

**-0O0-**

Miranda spent the rest of the day as she usually did on a Friday, she studied, practiced her martial arts training with her sensei, studied, practiced her biotics with the Asari teacher, studied, had her additional side arm practice at the shooting range, studied, had dinner with her father and then went up to her room for more 'studying'.

As she walked up the stairs to her room, she thought about how funny it was that her father could act as if everything was normal, like he wasn't going to kill his own daughter the following day. It was like it always was, he commented on her poor performance in biotics training and he told her that he decided that she needed to focus on it more in the summer holidays rather than going on the holiday he had 'planned' for her. She agreed to his decision like she had numerous times before when he decided her efforts were unsatisfactory. Even though her life was in danger and she would have to leave everything she has ever known behind by this time tomorrow, a not so small part of her waited in eager expectation, for the first time in her life, she wanted to disappoint her father.

Hours later she waited for her next communication with Cerberus, she looked at her watch, a couple more minutes, each minute felt like it would never end, but right on time the screen went blank and the face appeared exactly the same way as the previous night.

"Evening Miss Lawson," the face greeted; although the voice was still distorted Miranda felt that something in voice was different from the one that spoke to her yesterday.

"Good evening, I take it you are not the same person I spoke to yesterday?"

"Well done, Miss Lawson. You assume correctly, I am The Illusive Man. Your request has caught my personal attention; seeing as the decision will greatly affect my organization's finances it is only sensible that I see to it personally. But let's get down to business. It has come to my attention that you want to join my organization in exchange for protection?"

"Yes I want to join you, in exchange for protection for me and my sister."

"I take it that you seek protection from your father, Mr Richard Lawson, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct. He plans to kill me tomorrow and replace me with my sister. I need no assistance from you for my escape or for my sisters rescue, I do however need assistance thereafter. As you know, my father is very influential man and could very easily track me down and have me killed, that is why I need you."

"Ah, I see. But Mr Lawson donates very generously to our cause, why would I do something that might disturb that?"

"Like I said last night, I have skills that you might find more useful."

The Illusive Man kept silent for a few seconds before replying. "Alright we have a deal, tell me the details."

"How do I know you won't alert my father?"

"You don't, but we are your only option and I think you know that."

Miranda grimaced at situation she was in, but then continued. "My father plans to 'replace' me tomorrow by blowing up my limo when I depart from a midday function in the Sydney CBD. He will blame the explosion as an attack by disgruntled miners from current miner strike. Like I said, I don't need any help there but I will be leaving the planet that evening via Beijing Spaceport. You will find the details on my workstation."

"Got it, I see you plan to fly from Melbourne to Beijing, I will arrange for one of my operatives to watch over your flight from Melbourne all the way to Shanxi. Anything else?"

"Two things, a friend of mine will assist me in getting out of Sydney, his details are included in the file, keeping him save is also important as he is a dear friend of mine, he does not know about my contact with Cerberus, so please tell your operatives to stay anonymous."

"Done and your second request?"

"My sister is not joining Cerberus, I would need you to arrange a beneficial adoption of her by good people not related to Cerberus. I want her to have a normal life and protected from my father, this is more important than anything else, if you can't give me that then the deal is off." He had to understand this point and so Mrianda made it as clear as she could.

"I understand Miss Lawson, it won't be a problem. When you arrive in Shanxy my operative will make contact and transport you to a secure Cerberus facility where the details of your sister's adoption and your induction into Cerberus will be conducted. From here on in we will communicate via different communication channels; I have already installed a program that will destroy your workstation's memory banks as soon as midday tomorrow, I suggest you destroy any other items that might leave a trail."

"All ready arranged."

"Good, good luck Miss Lawson, I look forward to your safe arrival and to your joining of Cerberus."

The display went blank again before Miranda's usual work station setup was back up. She made a deep sigh of relief, Cerberus would help her and ensure protection for both her and Oriana and it felt like a great burden had been lifted of her shoulders. She stood up and picked up two black waste bags and put them outside her room and pushed a button to call the butler to take out the trash. It was common for her to have large amounts of left over material from her projects or to throw out old clothes when she wanted to make space for new ones, this was not the case. Later that evening Niket would recover the bags containing Miranda's clothes, travelling apparel and her gun from the refuse, giving it back to her in a travelling suitcase when they met again in the Sydney CBD.

Everything was done and so she went to bed and tried to sleep.

As she lay in her bed, she looked across the room at a dress hanging on a cabinet handle; it was the dress her father had bought her for the function tomorrow, the dress she was supposed to die in.

**-0O0-**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Well another chapter finished. In the beginning I intended to write this chapter all the way through to her escape but I decided that ending with the dress hanging by the closet was a fitting place to end the chapter, it allows anticipation to build. I also have to take in to consideration the difference in time between Shepard and Miranda, where many things will be happening to her in next couple of weeks and months, Shepard's story will progress a bit faster in terms of time.**

**Also I am still deciding whether I should end the story at a) The start of ME2 (at least until the escape of Lazarus station) or b) or continue the story with snap shots of the ME2 story involving Miranda and Shepard.**

**Let me know in your reviews.**


	7. Shepard: Chapter 3: Dawn

**Shepard: Chapter 3: Alone**

Shepard could hear the sound of the wind blowing through grass and he could feel the Sun's heat on his face as he lay on his back, eyes closed. He opened his eyes to bright midday sun; he pushed himself up into a sitting position and saw only tall wheat grass all around him. He stood up and looked around; he was back on his family's farm. He smiled, a feeling of warmth and belonging washed over him, but something felt wrong. He looked to his left and saw his house, nothing out of place; he even saw a tray with a jug full of ice cold lemonade, the heat made him thirsty and so he started walking towards the house.

"Derrick." He turned towards the familiar voice. It was Elle, she was standing in the field wearing her normal summer outfit of a tank top and cut-off jeans, her thick black hair waved gently across her face. She wiped the hair out of her face, but instead of seeing her beautiful smile, he saw only a horrified expression.

"Elle, what's wrong?" He tried to walk to her. She lifted her hand and pointed towards something behind him, he then heard gun fire and screams. When he turned around his house was on fire, his mother and father as well as Mr and Mrs Daniels lay in pools of their own blood.

"Why didn't you save them Derrick? Why didn't you save my family?" He heard the weeping voice of Elle and turned to look at her again. She was crying, tears streaming out of her eyes, "Why didn't you save them Derrick?"

He wanted say something, but every time he tried to speak Elle just said louder "Why didn't you save them, Derrick?" Louder and louder until she was shouting at him, "Why Derrick, Why did you not save them?" Something drew his attention back to the house, the fire was still raging but something was written on the wall of his house, written in blood, "Why didn't you save them, you human filth?"

Elle continued to shout and then suddenly she whispered, "Derrick?" He turned towards her voice, she was closer now, only a couple of meters, but now she had bruises on her face and arms, her tank top was torn and covered in blood and her beautiful hair was shaved off her head.

"Why didn't you save me?" She whispered and then there was loud gunshot, blood splattered on his face as the shot penetrated through the side of her head. He shouted in agony but no sound escape his lips. He turned to the sound of mocking laughter; a Batarian holding a pistol was mocking laughing at him.

The alien then looked at Shepard, "Pathetic human". He raised his gun and fired...

Shepard gasped as he jerked upright, it took only a split second for him to realise that it was just another nightmare. His heart slowly dropped to normal as he tried to calm himself while lying in his bunk bead inside his platoon's barracks. He rubbed his face and sighed again, looked to his left and saw that everyone was still asleep; a low snore penetrated the silence. He turned his attention to the overhead clock; the digital hologram faintly indicating that the time was 03:48AM. In half-an-hour or so Commander Welch or one of his fellow tormentors would barge through the door and wake up the platoon for the day's drills.

He swung his legs over the side of his bed and stared at the floor while rubbing his eyes as he tried to shake off the latest nightmare. He had tried grow accustomed to the recurring nightmares he had almost every night, but they had yet to lose their potency. In a way he was grateful for the nightmares, they served the purpose of reminding him why he was here; why he joined the Alliance Navy in the first place.

"Elle..." He mouthed softly.

Shepard shook his head, trying to dispel the images that flood his mind as he thought of 'her'.

_Might as well get it over with_, he got out of bed, grabbed his towel and headed for the communal bathrooms. He showered quickly but savoured the hot water as it made him relax; almost washing away the nightmarish visions. He went back to the bunker, got dressed and sat on his bed and waited.

"Five, four, three, two, one..." He whispered to himself before a loud siren assaulted his ears while at the exact same moment Lieutenant Edward Gains barged into the bunker.

"Good morning maggots rise and shine! Get your worthless behinds into formation! He shouted with a Texan drawl.

In a matter of minutes the entire platoon was dressed and standing to attention at the foot of their beds. Commander Norman Welch walked into the barracks, looking over the recruits as they stood at attention.

"Look at these boys; can you believe that after 15:00 hours today they will be Alliance Naval Officers?" The commander spoke mockingly but with a hint of pride.

"But don't think I'm done with you yet! 1st Lieutenant Rico, you are taking command of Charlie Company for today, if you think you can handle that?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The soldier on the opposite Shepard responded enthusiastically and then looked at Shepard with a quizzical look.

Shepard was confused; he had been Company XO from as much as day one, his excellent leadership ability and test scores had propelled him above any of his fellow officers. Something was up.

"Then what are you waiting for, get them in formation outside!" Welch ordered.

"Charlie Company, head out!" Rico ordered as the company moved out.

Shepard moved to follow but the Commander stopped.

"Hold on 1st Lieutenant, you won't be joining the rest of the platoon today."

"Sir?" Shepard asked confused.

"There is an Admiral Hackett who wishes to speak to you. You will report to HQ at 06:00 in full naval dress, you understand Lieutenant?"

"Sir, yes sir." Shepard replied and saluted.

-0O0-

Shepard walked up to the office door in full naval dress as ordered. He knocked on the door only once before a gruff voice told him to enter. He entered and saluted, the admiral was sitting behind the desk reading through data pads.

The man sitting before him was in his late forties or early fifties with an uncompromising stare and an attitude that showed his obvious experience in war and combat; the long scar left of his right eye gave him the look of a man that has weathered a few storms.

"At ease." The rear admiral ordered while he was still reading over the files.

Shepard relaxed his stance and waited, after a few quiet moments the admiral finally looked at him and spoke.

"Why did you join the Alliance Navy?"

"Sir?"

"I would like to know _why _you chose to join the Alliance Navy." Hackett asked again.

Shepard decided to tell the truth.

"Sir, to stop what happened on Mindoir from ever happening again, sir." He replied with determination.

The admiral looked straight into Shepard's eyes for moments that felt like hours. It seemed that he saw something in the young officer's eyes, whatever it was he saw made him nod to himself slightly.

"You ever hear of ICT Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir" Shepard replied, his eyes opening slightly wider.

"Tell me what you know."

"Sir, Interplanetary Combatives Training or ICT is an elite academy within the Systems Alliance Navy that specialised in special training for officers. The training is of the highest level, it is also known as N-School, the N standing for the designation trainees receive when completing the rounds of training; N1 being the first and N7 the last and most accomplished designation. ICT was established to take the best of the best and make them even better, sir."

"That is a basic explanation but accurate enough. Only a hand's full of the most promising officer graduates are invited to attend the first round of N-School, and even fewer get invited back, any questions?"

"Sir, just one; what N rank do I need achieve to be a part of the teams that strike at Batarian targets, sir."

Hackett looked at Shepard with a hard uncompromising stare, Shepard didn't flinch.

"The Systems Alliance is not at war with the Batarian Hegemony, as such no _sanctioned_ aggressive action is taken by the Alliance against Hegemony forces…but if any such action would be attempted it would be reasonable to believe that only N6 and up designation soldiers would be able to complete such action…however as such actions is not the _official _policy of the Systems Alliance it is thus of no concern to you _at the moment, _is that understood!"

"Sir, yes sir." Shepard said as he stood at attention again, the admiral had kept his hard stare on Shepard and then spoke in a formal tone.

"1st Lieutenant Derrick Shepard, you have been invited to attend the first round of ICT, should you choose to accept, than you need to report the Systems Alliance transit office by 08:00 tomorrow; all the information you will need and travel arrangements will be available with the ICT representative that will be waiting for you there, dismissed"

Shepard stood at attention and saluted the Admiral and turned around and left. When he finally left the HQ building his heart was racing. He had just been accepted into the most elite training program in the Alliance military; those designated with N6 or higher were considered the best that the Alliance could offer. This was his best chance at making a difference, if he failed he would end up serving on some ship that patrolled Alliance space, but if he succeeded and possibly made to level N6; he could make a difference but more importantly he could stop another Mindoir.

Shepard squared his shoulders and marched back to his bunk to start packing.

-0O0-


End file.
